The Librarians

[RJDiogenes]

Yeah, Galavant looks like fun, although I'm dubious about it's success-- even back in the 70s, When Things Were Rotten bombed in the ratings.

Good news about the ratings for The Librarians. It definitely sounds like they're good enough to warrant renewal. I really want to see this show continue.

 

[May 20]

The ratings are solid. This past episode drew over 4 million viewers and a 1.0 demo, good enough for the second highest ratings for a cable original for the night, and up from the previous Sunday's 3.18 million viewers/0.8 demo. TV by the Numbers also said The Librarians was averaging 12.4 million viewers across all platforms.

I expect we'll hear word of a second season pretty soon, assuming the ratings don't suddenly drop off a cliff for some weird reason.

That *is* good news.

Looking forward to news about a second season.

 

[Greg Cox]

Moving on...

Apparently the first season is only 10 episodes long, and we'll be getting episode 6 ("And the Fables of Doom") this Sunday, episodes 7 & 8 ("And the Rule of Three," "And the Heart of Darkness") back-to-back on January 11, and episodes 9 & 10 ("And the City of Light," "And the Loom of Fate") back-to-back on January 18. I hope TNT isn't rushing the releases out of a lack of confidence in the show.

It's fortunate that they rerun the episodes, since now it will up against Galavant and, when the double episodes start, against Downton Abbey (at least in my area).

Thankfully, it's on before Downtown Abbey here in PA.

 

[JD]

It's on at the same time as Revenge for me. But I have to work tonight so I'm not going to be able to watch either of them.

 

[DWF]

Tonight's ep. certainly has a classic Doctor Who title and it appears as though they're going to Storybrooke.

 

[Greg Cox]

Best line in tonight's ep: "Someone has weaponized fairy tales?"

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

Maybe Jenkins is Lancelot and Dulaque is his evil twin brother or something.

My money is on Jenkins being (in order of likelihood) Mordred, Gawain, or the illegitimate son of Lancelot and Guinevere.

I'm leaning towards Mordred mostly because of the Morgan le Fey reference, and the fact that Jenkins is fascinated with magic and the studying of it. It's also a nice contrast between them choosing different paths than they were destined for.

Gawain comes in a close second because it seems fairly obvious that they both drank from the Holy Grail after spending many years searching for it (hence them being older, but immortal). Gawain often being portrayed as the true "paladin" of the Court also fits really well, with Jenkins possibly having given up some promise of power that seduced Dulaque into becoming "the monster [Jenkins] thinks [he is]."

And a very distant third is the bastard son of Lancelot simply because of the way Dulaque really wants Jenkins to join him.

That said, what was that blue light Cassandra had at the end? Seemed kind of nefarious if it was in any way related to the book, yet they seemed to play it up like it was something cute and heartwarming. So I'm rather confused there.

 

[Greg Cox]

Notes from the Pacific Northwest: the troll beneath the bridge was possibly inspired by the famed Fremont Troll:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Troll

 

[intrinsical]

Rene Auberjonois! As a librarian! Squee!

 

[Christopher]

Still fun, but this wasn't quite as strong as previous episodes, I felt. The resolution with the lucky coin was a bit too much of a deus ex machina. How did it freeze the guy, exactly?

Although I do like the twist of the kindly Rene Auberjonois librarian turning out to be a total bastard.

I wish they'd explained why Cassandra ended up as Prince Charming and Eve as the princess. If people were inhabiting archetypes that fit their personalities, as Jacob and Ezekiel did, I would've thought it'd be the other way around. It was more fun this way, and that's surely why it was done, but there was no in-story explanation for why only those two manifested against type, or for why those manifestations actually fit some hitherto-unsuspected parts of their personalities.

Although... Cassie still had a bit of that glowy magic stuff at the end, and that got me wondering if maybe she's more than she appears.

 

[Greg Cox]

Rene Auberjonois! As a librarian! Squee!

And he claims the prize for being the first actor to appear on both The Librarians and Warehouse 13 . . . .

 

[Christopher]

Rene Auberjonois! As a librarian! Squee!

And he claims the prize for being the first actor to appear on both The Librarians and Warehouse 13 . . . .

Actually that prize goes to Lindy Booth (Cassandra), who was in the second episode of W13, "Resonance." That episode also featured Tricia Helfer, who was the villain in "And the Horns of a Dilemma." So Auberjonois is at least the third.

And Matt Frewer was a recurring character in Eureka, which was supposedly in the same universe as W13.

 

[Greg Cox]

Rene Auberjonois! As a librarian! Squee!

And he claims the prize for being the first actor to appear on both The Librarians and Warehouse 13 . . . .

Actually that prize goes to Lindy Booth (Cassandra), who was in the second episode of W13, "Resonance." That episode also featured Tricia Helfer, who was the villain in "And the Horns of a Dilemma." So Auberjonois is at least the third.

You're right! I stand corrected!

 

[intrinsical]

I wish they'd explained why Cassandra ended up as Prince Charming and Eve as the princess.

Ah but Eve is actually the Ninja Princess (of Konoha).
And Cassandra is actually Merlin.

I'm probably reading way too much into this, but I feel the writers are hinting the hidden sides of of Eve and Cassandra. Secretly, Eve wants to be a princess and Cassandra wants to be a brave heroine.

 

[Christopher]

I'm probably reading way too much into this, but I feel the writers are hinting the hidden sides of of Eve and Cassandra. Secretly, Eve wants to be a princess and Cassandra wants to be a brave heroine.

First off, I don't believe that Eve would ever want to be some weak, simpering creature defined solely by beauty and existing only to be a passive conquest. Second, even if she did want that, the Libris Fabula wasn't making people's wishes come true; it was making them play out the roles they naturally embodied. It wasn't about what they wanted, but about who they already were.

And we know that the cosmic forces of magic (as channeled through the Library) chose Eve to be a Guardian -- a warrior, a defender. So that's her innate role, and that's the fairy-tale archetype she should therefore have fulfilled: not the princess, but the knight.

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Although... Cassie still had a bit of that glowy magic stuff at the end, and that got me wondering if maybe she's more than she appears.

I read it as just the lingering effects from being Merlin at the end.

Though it's possible the super-powerful book will have lasting repercussions on the whole team. It would certainly explain why Christian Kane is wielding an axe in those promo stills that they show before every episode begins if he is still (sort of) the huntsman.

 

[Christopher]

Although... Cassie still had a bit of that glowy magic stuff at the end, and that got me wondering if maybe she's more than she appears.

I read it as just the lingering effects from being Merlin at the end.

Well, yeah, that's the most straightforward reading, but I had to wonder if maybe that's just what they want us to think. After all, she didn't look surprised that the magic was lingering. And while her smile might've been just fond reminiscence about her adventure, it looked a wee bit secretive to me, particularly since she waited until she was alone to reveal the magical energy.

 

[RJDiogenes]

It's too bad that we didn't get to see more of that troll. It was kind of like the dragon episode. They seem to have grand dreams that their budget can't reach. Still, it was a good episode and fun to see the characters transforming into Fairy Tale archetypes.

Except for Ezekial. I wonder if it's going to be a running gag that he's immune to everything. When everyone turned evil, he didn't change because he's already his worst self. Now when everyone turned into a Fairy Tale archetype, he didn't change because he's already a Fairy Tale archetype.

 

[intrinsical]

Except for Ezekial. I wonder if it's going to be a running gag that he's immune to everything. When everyone turned evil, he didn't change because he's already his worst self. Now when everyone turned into a Fairy Tale archetype, he didn't change because he's already a Fairy Tale archetype.

I'm starting to think Ezekial maybe magical in some way. Maybe its a curse/blessing passed down his family. Maybe he unknowingly has an artifact that grants him his luck.

 

[Christopher]

^No, I think that's just the running gag of his character -- that he's this totally amoral, id-driven guy that doesn't care enough about anything to be really affected by anything. He's not trying to better himself, so a spell that brings out his worst self doesn't change him. He's not trying to be anything he's not, so a spell that brings out his archetypal nature doesn't change him. And it's a source of frustration to the people around him who think he deserves to be taught a lesson but have to watch him perpetually breeze through everything without it touching him. Essentially, he's playing much the same kind of character that John Larroquette played on Night Court, the total scoundrel who's entirely content with being a scoundrel and never learns or changes.

Although it's possible that he's being set up for a really rude awakening in some upcoming episode when something finally gets to him.